New Real Time With Pause Dungeons & Dragons RPG - SWORD COAST LEGENDS

[HoonDing]

Did a cursory scan of 5th edition Forgotten Realms, and Drizzt is still around. And he's good buddies with Entreri. Who's ruling Neverwinter. Or the ruins of it.

[Oerwinde]

Did a cursory scan of 5th edition Forgotten Realms, and Drizzt is still around. And he's good buddies with Entreri. Who's ruling Neverwinter. Or the ruins of it.

Did you expect him not to be? Entreri was turned into a shade by wielding Charon's Claw so he's long lived now. haven't gotten to when he rules Neverwinter yet in the books, but the guy ruling it now has him enslaved so it makes sense.

[BruceVC]

 

 

 

Is it a RPG like a journey based RPG like BG?

Do they have forums? Bruce you should create an account there and ask them if they'll have romance.

I just checked the forums and people are already asking about it

Yeah but Bruce is a promancer's pro. If anyone can successfully lobby for it, that would be Bruce.

 

 

The promancer army is legion, our tentacles permeate all gaming mediums 

 

 Also its actually a normal question to ask for Romance in a RPG, remember you guys with your aversion to Romance are the exceptions..not the norm 

Edited February 14, 2015 by BruceVC

[500MetricTonnes]

I am not opposed to the presence of Drizzt, so long as the player is allowed to murder him.

 

I am not opposed to the presence of romance, so long as the player is allowed to murder his love interest.

[BruceVC]

I am not opposed to the presence of Drizzt, so long as the player is allowed to murder him.

 

I am not opposed to the presence of romance, so long as the player is allowed to murder his love interest.

 

Sure, I get that idea of yours is part of the new breed of suggestions that would make Romance more realistic and meaningful and that should be included

 

But why would you want to kill the person you are having Romance with, it sounds strange ?

[Vaeliorin]

Gotta be honest, initially I was kind of excited, as I've really wanted some new D&D games (but I wanted turn-based 4E ones set somewhere other than the Forgotten Realms.) But with the apparent focus on multi-player, the selling of tilesets (note how some of the special editions come with extra tilesets, which doubtless will be for sale to those who didn't buy the special editions), the horribly overused, cliche land of the Mary Sue setting (the Sword Coast, but more so the Forgotten Realms in general), and 5E D&D (which threw out most of the improvements made since 2E, nuked magic even more than I would have liked, and, when I read it made me wonder if I was reading a copy of D&D For Dummies) I'm not sure I'll ever buy this.

 

Perhaps they can do something to excite me in the future, and I'll keep an eye on it, but I don't have very high hopes.

[Mamoulian War]

I wish I could get 4 others to go in for the 5 pack

 

$60 for 1 deluxe or 5 for $150

 

I have a friend who might be interested in it. I would be, but unfortunately, Steam only is a big NO-NO :/

 

So let me know if you find some people, but lack some.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Mamoulian War

[Mamoulian War]

I'm really torn on this one.

 

On one hand, it looks like a very simplified version of DnD, built like Diablo 3. Marginal story, the main focus is co-op action and lootsplosion. Which I enjoyed in Diablo 3 and in Borderlands 2 etc., but those games don't have a lot of depth to the gameplay.

 

On the other hand, it's not an MMO like Dungeons and Dragons Online and Neverwinter, where the progress is severely inhibited to tug at your wallet. That's something, I guess.

 

Time will tell.

 

To me, it looks more like Dungeon Siege Series.

[Mamoulian War]

 

 

 

 

Is it a RPG like a journey based RPG like BG?

Do they have forums? Bruce you should create an account there and ask them if they'll have romance.

I just checked the forums and people are already asking about it

Yeah but Bruce is a promancer's pro. If anyone can successfully lobby for it, that would be Bruce.

 

 

The promancer army is legion, our tentacles permeate all gaming mediums 

 

 Also its actually a normal question to ask for Romance in a RPG, remember you guys with your aversion to Romance are the exceptions..not the norm 

 

 

To bad your legion is not lobbying more in the eastern regions. Your tentacles permeating JRPGs could bring romances in computer games into whole new level!!!

Edited February 14, 2015 by Mamoulian War

[LordCrash]

Well it's good to have dome titles to wipe the tears of dissapointment of PoE fans after it will crash and burn.

 

Can't you toxic guys just stay on the RPG Codex and limit this kind of needlessly offensive posts to that forum? Or is it now a standard behaviour of self-proclaimed old-school CRPG hardcore fans to behave like total douches on every possible occasion? Jesus...

Edited February 14, 2015 by LordCrash

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Eh, I was pretty excited until I saw the heavy focus on multiplayer. I was thinking this was another Icewind Dale-ish style game. That game was great in co-op too. Really enjoyed it. Unlike BG in co-op which just has too much downtime for co-op.

[Infinitron]

SHOTS FIRED SHOTS FIRED

 

https://forums.swordcoast.com/index.php?/topic/123-will-you-have-live-stream-this-month/&do=findComment&comment=954

 

 

 

 

[NS]Ash, on 14 Feb 2015 - 5:03 PM, said:

 

Look for some more info regarding streaming post-GDC. We do plan on having a pretty regular schedule.

 

If it's past early march then you definitely need to do something on March 26. Take away some attention from the Pillars of Eternity

 

 

 

 

Well it's good to have dome titles to wipe the tears of dissapointment of PoE fans after it will crash and burn.

 

Can't you toxic guys just stay on the RPG Codex and limit this kind of needlessly offensive posts to that forum? Or is it now a standard behaviour of self-proclaimed old-school CRPG hardcore fans to behave like total douches on every possible occasion? Jesus...

 

 

Hey, he's not one of ours

Edited February 14, 2015 by Infinitron

[MasterPrudent]

It's going to be interesting to see what the reaction is when they reveal just how loosely they've adapted 5e. Going by their use of language ("Inspired by") and the presence of cool downs I'm guessing it's pretty loose. Judging from the forums there are going to be more than a few people who be very surprised and disappointed. (There are people rationalising the presence of cool downs by suggesting they're round timers.

[Lychnidos]

It's interesting how cynical and critical people act about RPGs nowadays, but slap DnD in the name and it all flies away. 

[archangel979]

It's interesting how cynical and critical people act about RPGs nowadays, but slap DnD in the name and it all flies away. 

Well D&D system is better than what PoE has developed. That automatically gives it a head start. Of course people are excited.

[rjshae]

 

Well it's good to have dome titles to wipe the tears of dissapointment of PoE fans after it will crash and burn.

 

Can't you toxic guys just stay on the RPG Codex and limit this kind of needlessly offensive posts to that forum? Or is it now a standard behaviour of self-proclaimed old-school CRPG hardcore fans to behave like total douches on every possible occasion? Jesus...

 

Well, the good thing about posters with toxic opinions is that they won't then actually play the game and spew forth yet more toxicity. Or at least they won't play it more than a four or five times, at any rate.

[500MetricTonnes]

 

I am not opposed to the presence of Drizzt, so long as the player is allowed to murder him.

 

I am not opposed to the presence of romance, so long as the player is allowed to murder his love interest.

 

Sure, I get that idea of yours is part of the new breed of suggestions that would make Romance more realistic and meaningful and that should be included

 

But why would you want to kill the person you are having Romance with, it sounds strange ?

 

Wait.

 

Are you saying the purpose of romance is not to get close enough to someone in order to brutally murder them?

 

Most women who fall for my protagonists, Viconia, Aribeth, Leliana, Bastila - end up dying by my hand. Only the Handmaiden survived, but I consider having to exist in a setting that is now being written by BioWare to be a fate worse than death.

Edited February 14, 2015 by 500MetricTonnes

[Valsuelm]

 

 

 

 

Is it a RPG like a journey based RPG like BG?

Do they have forums? Bruce you should create an account there and ask them if they'll have romance.

I just checked the forums and people are already asking about it

Yeah but Bruce is a promancer's pro. If anyone can successfully lobby for it, that would be Bruce.

 

 

The promancer army is legion, our tentacles permeate all gaming mediums 

 

 Also its actually a normal question to ask for Romance in a RPG, remember you guys with your aversion to Romance are the exceptions..not the norm 

 

 

A sword wielding promancer in action:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDi3cpedm5c

 

[Magnum Opus]

Will admit to being curious about this one. The halcyon days of my DnD gaming were way back with 2nd and 3rd edition (ie. the IE and NWN series).  I didn't even pay attention to what 4th edition was doing rule-wise never mind 5th, so I'm not biased in that respect; for me the rules are more about providing a consistent interaction with the world than anything else, so maybe my metric for what defines a "good" ruleset is different from others' anyway. 

 

I played that online Neverwinter F2P MMORPG for a little while before deciding that it was too far removed from the Forgotten Realms setting that I knew for me to feel any nostalgia for the locations, and that the gameplay was like every other MMO I've tried, which is to say fun for a little while but quickly repetitive later on -- hard to really tell where the "DnD" left off and the "MMO" began. 

 

I played Dragon Age Origins more than I like to admit, though, so if this game is similar in that regard I know it'll be good enough, at least, maybe good enough that I'll want to explore the underlying ruleset a little more, or even try to reconcile the Realms that I knew from Baldur's Gate and other games of that era to the new Realms, to build the bridge of history within the Realms, so to speak, if there's any bridge to be built between the two.

 

Yes.  Curious.  Not pre-order curious, but quite possibly purchase-curious.

[Valsuelm]

 

It's interesting how cynical and critical people act about RPGs nowadays, but slap DnD in the name and it all flies away. 

Well D&D system is better than what PoE has developed. That automatically gives it a head start. Of course people are excited.

 

 

Is it? I really don't know. I do know that 3E was a step down from previous editions, but a step I could stomach. 4E was utter poop. I've really got no reason to believe that 5E is any good at all as WotC lost all credibility with me many years ago. I honestly don't like much of what I've seen Josh do to the PoE ruleset, but it still looks better than 4E to me, albeit not much.

 

What would get me to play SCL would be a compelling story, and that's what likely is going to keep me playing PoE (assuming it has one) in spite of PoE having many modern design philosophies that I consider utter poop implemented in it's mechanics.

 

In what ways exactly is 5E better than PoE?

[Oerwinde]

I don't et the PoE hate. Feels like an IE game to me. Just needs a big quickslot bar along the bottom instad of the tiny one above each character's portrait and it would play the same.

[LordCrash]

Interview about the developers and the game on Develop:

 

 

'Self-publishing is critical to survival': Why n-Space teamed up with Digital Extremes

 

 

CEO Dan O'Leary talks us through the studio's partnership with the Warframe dev for new RPG Sword Coast Legends

 

 

While the mysterious RPG project the duo were working on intrigued many – a title that has been announced today as Sword Coast Legends, a new game set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms series – of more interest was the nature of the partnership between the two studios.

 

Developers working together is becoming increasingly common, but it was Digital Extremes' experience of self-publishing with Warframe that holds the key to its collaboration with n-Space.

 

We caught up with Dan O'Leary (pictured), CEO of n-Space, to find out more about the partnership, why self-publishing is essential to a mid-sized studio's survival and why former BioWare talent was keen to work on Sword Coast Legnds.

 

 

 

How did the partnership between n-Space and Digital Extremes first come about? Who approached whom?

 

Both n-Space and Digital Extremes were represented by the same agency for many years, and have had a friendly relationship all along. A few years back they took a big chance self-publishing Warframe and the result has been transformative for the company. I watched that happen, cheering them on, knowing it was the right path for n-Space as well.

 

We were busy developing Sword Coast Legends at the time, keeping all our options open for publishing and distribution. When it became painfully obvious that a traditional developer/publisher relationship could not meet our expectations, I called Digital Extremes.

 

 

Why is this partnership significant? How does it differ from other collaborations?

 

There is a lot of lip service given to partnership in this industry, often without actions to back it up. Our relationship with DE is a true partnership, with shared goals, risk, expectations and reward. They have offered support beyond what is required, without hesitation or concern for anything but the quality of the end product. We share that developer mindset and it makes this relationship special.

 

 

What does each studio bring to the table? What contributions will each team be making to the new RPG?

 

n-Space is developing the game, concept to completion. We also bring to the table a strong partnership with Wizards of the Coast and the Dungeons & Dragons team. Digital Extremes is providing a portion of the funding, along with the skills and experience they have garnered publishing and supporting Warframe, which boasts over 14 million players worldwide.

 

 

How will Digital Extremes self-publishing experience help n-Space, not only on this game but going forward?

 

DE has a wealth of experience and considerable resources to bring to bear in the areas of PR, Marketing, QA, community management, customer support, advertising, global digital distribution, and so on. They also have a valuable network of friends and partners to assist in many of the same areas and more.

 

 

How important is self-publishing becoming to medium-sized studios such as n-Space?

 

I would say it is critical to survival and essential to prosperity. There just aren’t enough work-for-hire development opportunities available these days to keep a mid-sized studio busy.

 

Twenty years ago, we’d do six pitch meetings or less to get a solid lead on a project. Two or three months later we’d be under contract, with the signing payment in the bank. Now it takes 20+ meetings and more than six to nine months of bidding and contract negotiations. During that time the studio is expected to keep the team intact, create extensive pitch documentation and invest in compelling demos (all without compensation) if it hopes to land the project. It has become a 'bet the farm' prospect every time, and a major contributor to worldwide studio closures over the last few years.

 

Meanwhile, the industry has evolved in other, more positive ways. We now have access to tools and platforms that provide us with alternatives to 'Big Publisher' distribution, marketing, fulfillment, PR and even financing. By investing the same time and money that would have gone into bidding for a work-for-hire contract, studios like n-Space can go a long way towards building a future for themselves that is truly independent. Neither guarantee success, but the economics of self-publishing are far, far more likely to lead to a profitable and sustainable business model.

 

 

How has the games industry changed to necessitate such a partnership between your two studios? What opportunities does this create?

 

The rise to prominence of direct digital distribution is the key change that created this opportunity and our relationship with Digital Extremes is allowing us to make the best of it. As a result, both companies are positioned to succeed in a way not possible in a traditional arrangement where it is common for publishers to recoup five to ten times the development budget before the developer sees a penny of royalties.

 

 

How does this partnership influence the future of n-Space?

 

Sword Coast Legends is the culmination of about three years of work to pivot n-Space away from work-for-hire development as our core business model, and toward owned titles and self-publishing. The future of n-Space will be dictated in large part by our efforts with Digital Extremes to successfully bring it to market.

 

 

Do you expect other studios to form similar partnerships?

 

The landscape for mid-sized independent development studios like n-Space is in a state of flux and I expect you will see a number of interesting partnerships and strategies continue to emerge from it. Self-publishing, digital distribution, alternative monetisation methods, niche products and new financing methods will be common to many of those. It is an adapt or die situation.

 

 

Tell us more about the talent you have brought on board for this new RPG project. Who have you hired and why?

 

I first brought on Dan Tudge as president over two years ago. Dan was the director of Dragon Age: Origins, but our paths had first crossed prior to that when he was running his own development studio and we were both working for Nintendo. I hired Dan to fill shoes left empty in 2008 and to help pivot the company. Even then we were talking about this project, which was a great fit for his experience and passion.

 

In turn, Dan brought in Ross Gardner and Jay Turner, both BioWare vets and prior members of the DA:O team. Ross came on as the project’s technical director, leveraging over 13 years of experience at BioWare on Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights and The Old Republic, among others.

 

Jay is the narrative director for Sword Coast Legends. While at BioWare, he wrote for several titles including Dragon Age: Origins, Jade Empire and the Mass Effect series, before moving to EA where he wrote for Dead Space 3 among others. Together with n-Space’s proven team of veteran developers, it is a formidable combination.

 

 

A lot of independent developers are starting to embrace the term 'triple-A quality'. Why is this?

 

I think largely to set consumer expectations of scope and quality. It is an imprecise term, but I think it adequately communicates to players that it falls between $100m+ Big Publisher releases – which I have come to call “quadruple-A” – and indie releases at the opposite end of the spectrum.  Between those lies a tremendously underserved market for high quality, high value products, especially for genres that have been left behind by Big Publishers and beyond the reach of Indie studios.

 

 

Is there a level of expectation created by any project billing itself as 'triple-A quality', and how do you ensure you meet that?

 

Absolutely. After years of misuse many players have become skeptical of the label, and with good reason.  We are building for quality by managing scope and resources, finishing key systems and content very early on and iterating rapidly and often. We have also built lots of time into the schedule post Alpha for final polish. These are common sense methods but are often set aside in order to accommodate changes outside the developer’s control. By funding all of the core development internally, n-Space was able to insulate the team from that kind of disruption, and our relationship with Digital Extremes allows us to continue with the same kind of focus.

 

 

With the new talent adding their RPG experience, how will this team help attract fans of previous Forgotten Realms games?

 

When I tell you that Jon Irenicus from Baldur’s Gate II was based on the D&D character campaigned by the Sword Coast Legends’ technical director… or that the director of Dragon Age: Origins is heading up the team… These things lend a certain degree of instant credibility to the team and our game.

 

But that sort of thing is only enough to get your attention. What really matters is what the fans see when they look at what we’re doing, or hear about it from their friends. The care taken in bringing the spirit of Dungeons & Dragons and old-school RPG sensibilities to their PC in a way that lets them play with their friends, and create a story with their DM… that will attract the fans.

 

 

How else will you ensure Sword Coast Legends stands toe-to-toe with other games set in the Forgotten Realms universe?

 

At n-Space, we are all passionate fans when it comes to D&D and the Forgotten Realms, and that passion drives a deep understanding of the brand. The team is committed to authentically recreating the Forgotten Realms setting, its characters and stories, myths and legends to deliver a game that stands tall in a long line of classic D&D titles.

 

Like many on the team, Sword Coast Legends is a game that I have dreamed of since I was first introduced to D&D. I still vividly remember the moment I learned that skeletons take more damage from blunt weapons than edged. That experience in sixth grade framed my entire understanding of games as rule systems and kickstarted a lifetime of playing and making them. This project brings me full-circle, nearly 30 years later. I speak for the entire team here at n-Space when I say that our goal for Sword Coast Legends is to provide its players with life-long memories of fun-filled experiences.

 

 

 

Source: http://www.develop-online.net/interview/self-publishing-is-critical-to-survival-why-n-space-teamed-up-with-digital-extremes/0203124

Edited February 14, 2015 by LordCrash

[Volourn]

"In what ways exactly is 5E better than PoE?"

 

Every way most likely barring a surprise.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Volourn

[Darkpriest]

"In what ways exactly is 5E better than PoE?"

 

Every way most likely barring a surprise.

 

I don't know, DnD has years of development behind it, but to me 3,5 is still best. The first two were a bit odd in some parts, 4 was more like a system for an MMORPG game, I have no idea how the 5th looks like, but people agree that its better than 4th.

[Tigranes]

I'm still waiting to see if it will actually be a proper D&D game. I think the video basically is deisnged to make you think BG/NWN & screams D&D at you, but this guy's observations are pertinent:

 

 

 

So, 5e is out. No need to go any further. But I will:

• The existence of Ray of Frost II means no d&d spell progression, but instead a small list of powers which are leveled up/unlocked.
• The existence of cooldowns means its not going to have d&d spell use limitations, will instead have cooldown cycles as its limiter.
• The existence of cooldowns and Ray of Frost II implies access to all unlocked powers all the time, not a limited # chosen by the day.
• The focus on co-op implies some kind of drop-in/drop-out system and enforced character balance.

Now, put all that together. You've got this co-op focused game where the spellcasters don't have the traditional d&d number-of-uses limitations, but instead have cooldowns. Normally, the spellcasters are the big guns with limited ammunition. With cooldowns implemented, though, that ain't happening. And since I don't see a mana bar, those spellcasters are going to be using their powers infinitely, limited by the cooldown cycle. Which implies that the fighters are going to have "special powers" too, with every class being roughly equal in damage output (very likely balanced around dps, healer, tank), so that the drop-in/drop-out co-op partners aren't put out that their chosen class is weaker than the others. So, everyone is going to be throwing around their "special" attacks of Whirlwind Strike II and Flurry of Blows III and Fireball IV on cooldown cycles.

 

The point isn't whether cooldowns are bad per se or anything. The point is, most of us are excited by this because we want a real D&D game. (And let's leave out the pointless OMFG POE SUX idiocy, because whether POE sux or rulz we'd still want an actual D&D game too.) Well, they're being coy about the details so far, but I'm not going to get my hopes up (or down) just yet.